Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the official entry age for pre-primary education is 3 years old. The national legal framework does not specify any number of years of free or compulsory pre-primary education. Between 2001 and 2013, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary education increased from 0.77% to 3.75%.
Governance
As stipulated in the 2014 National Education Law, pre-primary education is governed by the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship (Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Nouvelle Citoyenneté, EDU-NC), which oversees all pre-university levels, including preschool education. The state is responsible for organising, supervising, and financing the education within the national system, under the authority of the Ministry in charge of National Education. The law also specifies that budget execution and control for public education are carried out by the central ministry and its deconcentrated services.
Tuition-free status
Public pre-primary education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is not tuition-free according to national laws and policies, which guarantee free compulsory primary education since 2019 but exclude pre-primary (ages 3-6).
1. Education resources to subnational governments
There is no dedicated public financing mechanism specifically for pre-primary education . In principle, teacher salaries in public pre-primary schools are paid directly by the central government through the SECOPE payroll system; however, these schools represent only a small fraction of total provision. Most pre-primary institutions are private or faith-based and therefore operate without government subsidies, relying almost entirely on tuition and parental contributions. According to the 2013 Public Expenditure Review, households accounted for the largest share of total spending at the pre-primary level, particularly in private schools.
2. Education resources to institutions
No evidence was found of any government subsidies or equity-targeted funding for public pre-primary institutions.
3. Education resources to students and families
No evidence was found of any specific financial programme directly supporting pre-primary education. However, the national education sector plan (SSEF 2016-2025) highlights equity as a central priority, which aims to expand free public pre-primary provision to children aged 3-5 in rural and peri-urban areas that have the lowest enrolment rates. The plan emphasises reducing regional and socioeconomic disparities by partnering with local communities to establish pre-primary classes within public primary schools, ensuring that disadvantaged populations gain access to early childhood education opportunities.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
No evidence was found of any social policy or transfer programme specifically designed to improve access to pre-primary education.
This profile was reviewed by Isidore Murhi Mihigo, Researcher at the Université Catholique de Bukavu.
